JUST 12 months after England found themselves in the gutter, Fabio Capello is insisting that his side can hit the heights.

England have jumped to 10th in the world rankings and the Italian’s mojo isn’t showing any signs of burn-out.

It appears that an England team which failed miserably to qualify for Euro 2008 against Croatia almost a year ago to the day is improving at the same impressive pace as Capello’s understanding of his adopted country’s language.

The national coach was in good spirits as he looked forward to Wednesday night’s testing friendly against Germany in Berlin – laughing at newspaper headlines on his Soho Square table which suggested that he had banned ketchup and chips from the players’ diet.

I asked them for their thoughts but the decisions are mine in the end.

Fabio Capello

“No, no, no,” he said. “I just noticed at first a lot of sauces were used in the food. It wasn’t meant to be an attack on the English way of life. Anyway, I admit that some of the best Italian players were smokers!”

It is not a case of what is in his players’ stomachs that concerns Capello – it is the contents of their minds which occupy his studious mind.

It is also the reason why there will not be wholesale changes to the side which has won four successive World Cup qualifiers, even though the Germany encounter is a friendly – if such a word can ever describe any sort of combat with the old enemy.

“I know the significance of this game very well,” he added. “Italy’s equivalent game? Against England!”

One, maybe two newcomers from Stuart Pearce’s Under-21 squad will start but it will not be easy for the youngsters to break into the main squad.

Capello explained: “I think it is good when you put one young player in, a maximum of two. They are going into a team that knows each other.

“But too many young players can be dangerous. After all, we are playing Germany, not Trinidad.”

And that is a clear indication that, friendly or no friendly, Capello does not want to relinquish the winning mentality.

England, he insists, are in better shape for the tough tasks ahead – starting with Spain in February – than they were when he took over.

“The confidence of the players is different now,” he stated. “In the first game against Switzerland, we played without confidence. Now we have won four qualifiers and I can see the confidence in the players.

“It is very important to follow that road against Germany. Confidence can disappear quicker than it arrived.

“When I arrived we had meetings with the players about the mistakes to try to remove the fear. They were playing well for their clubs but not for their country.

“I asked them for their thoughts but the decisions are mine in the end.

“We never spoke about the past. I told them to forget the past.”

A return to FIFA’s top 10 is merely the start for Capello. “We have a very good team who can compete against the best.

I hope we can make the No1 spot,” he said.

David Beckham won’t be in the squad and pays the price for LA Galaxy’s failure to reach the MLS play-offs. But if he plays regularly for AC Milan after joining the Italians in January, then Beckham will be back in the fold for the Spain game.

Capello confirmed: “He won’t be in the Germany squad. If you are not playing you can’t be in the squad.”

The England boss gave Beckham a resounding reference when Adriano Galliani, vice-president of his former club AC Milan, sounded him out.